Tafsir of Al-Muzzammil 73:17

Al-Muzzammil (The Enshrouded One): Verse 17

{ فَكَيْفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِن كَفَرْتُمْ يَوْمًا يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَانَ شِيبًا } (So how will you guard yourselves, if you disbelieve, against a Day that will make children turn grey-haired?)

Issue 1: Word Order

Al-Wahidi stated that there is a transposition (Qadm wa Ta'khir) in the verse. The intended order is: "How will you guard yourselves against a Day that will make children turn grey-haired, if you disbelieve?"

Issue 2: Grammatical Analysis of { يَوْمًا } (a Day)

The author of Al-Kashshaf mentioned several interpretations for the accusative case of { يَوْمًا }:

1. Direct Object (Maf'ul bihi): It means, "How will you guard yourselves against the Day of Resurrection and its terror, if you persist in disbelief?"
2. Adverbial (Zarf): It means, "How can you attain piety/guarding yourselves on the Day of Resurrection if you disbelieve in the world?"
3. Governed by { تَتَّقُونَ } (with the meaning of rejection): It means, "How will you fear and revere Allah if you reject the Day of Resurrection and its recompense?" This is because the essence of fearing Allah is fearing His punishment.

Issue 3: Describing the Terror of That Day

Allah mentioned two things regarding the horror of that Day:

1. { يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَانَ شِيبًا } (that will make children turn grey-haired)

There are two interpretations for this:

• Metaphor for Intensity: It is a metaphor for extreme severity. It is said of a very difficult day: "A day that turns the forelocks of children white." The origin of this is that when worries and sorrows become overwhelming, they hasten graying because excessive worry causes the spirit to contract inward. This contraction extinguishes the natural heat (of the body), and the weakening of this heat prevents the nutritive elements from fully maturing, leading to the dominance of phlegm over the humors, which causes the hair to whiten. Since graying is a consequence of intense worry, it became a metaphor for severity and tribulation. The intent is not that the horror of that Day will literally turn children gray, as inflicting pain and fear upon children on the Day of Judgment is not permissible.
• Description of Length: It may mean describing the Day's extreme length, such that children reach the age of old age and gray hair within it.

Comparison with Al-Ma'arri's Poetry: Some literary scholars asked me about Al-Ma'arri's line:

"And darkness filling the temples with gray hair."

They asked how the Quranic simile surpasses Al-Ma'arri's verse. I responded with several points:

1. Graying of the temples is not astonishing, but children turning gray is astonishing. It is as if the severity of that Day transports them from childhood to old age without passing through the stage of youth—this is extreme exaggeration in describing the Day's severity.
2. Graying of the temples only means the hair has whitened, which can happen due to illness while the strength of youth remains. This lacks exaggeration. However, the verse implies that the children become old in weakness, frailty, and loss of facial smoothness, which is the ultimate degree of that Day's severity.
3. Graying of the temples is not an exaggeration because the sides of the head are areas prone to much phlegmatic moisture; this is why graying often starts at the temples first, then spreads. Therefore, graying in the temples is not hyperbole; the hyperbole is the graying spreading to all parts of the head, or even the entire body, as mentioned in the verse. And Allah knows best.

2. { السَّمَاءُ مُنفَطِرٌ بِهِ } (The heaven will split apart because of it)

This also describes the Day's severity: the heaven, despite its vastness and strength, will split open on that Day. What then do you think of the other creatures? This is similar to His saying: { إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انفَطَرَتْ } (When the heaven is split open).

Two Questions Arise Here:

Question 1: Why was it not said { مُنفَطِرَةٌ } (feminine)?

1. Abu 'Ubaydah narrated from Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' that it was said { مُنفَطِرٌ } (masculine) because the metaphor used is that of a roof (سقف), and one says, "This is the sima' (roof) of the house."
2. Al-Farra' said that Sama' (Heaven) is both feminine and masculine. Here, it is treated as masculine. (He cited poetry supporting the masculine usage).
3. The femininity of Sama' is not inherent (Haqiqi), and what is not inherently feminine may be treated as masculine (He cited poetry examples).
4. It could be that Sama' is described as Dhat Infitaar (possessing splitting), similar to phrases like "locusts spreading" (al-jarad al-muntashir) or "a nursing woman" (imra'ah murdi'), meaning "a woman possessing nursing."

Question 2: What is the meaning of { بِهِ } (because of it)?

1. Al-Farra' said the meaning is "in it" (fihi).
2. The Baa' (in bihi) is like the Baa' in "I split the wood with the axe" (fa-infatar bihi). Meaning, the heaven splits due to the severity and terror of that Day, just as an object splits by the instrument that splits it.
3. It may mean the heaven is burdened by it (the Day's event) to such an extent that it leads to its splitting, due to the magnitude of that occurrence and the fear of it, similar to His saying: { ثَقُلَتْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ } (heavy upon the heavens and the earth).

Regarding { كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَفْعُولًا } (His promise was bound to be fulfilled)

The pronoun in { وَعْدُهُ } (His promise) can refer back to the object (the Day) or the subject (Allah).

1. Referring to the Object (The Day): The meaning is that the promise concerning that Day is necessarily enacted, as the Wisdom and Knowledge of Allah necessitate its occurrence.
2. Referring to the Subject (Allah): The meaning is that Allah's promise is inevitably carried out because He is exalted above falsehood. Although Allah is not explicitly mentioned here, it is appropriate for the pronoun to refer back to Him as He is the known subject.

Know that Allah began the Surah by explaining the states of the fortunate ones (the righteous). Their states are twofold:

1. That which relates to religion and obedience to the Master, which He mentioned first.
2. That which relates to dealings with creation, clarified by His saying: { وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا } (And be patient over what they say, and keep away from them a beautiful turning away).

As for the wretched ones (the disbelievers), He began by threatening them generally: { وَذَرْنِي وَالْمُكَذِّبِينَ } (And leave Me with the deniers). Then, He mentioned the types of punishment in the Hereafter, followed by the punishment in this world (the severe taking). After that, He described the severity of the Day of Resurrection.

At this point, the explanation is complete in all aspects. Therefore, it is fitting that He concluded this discourse with:

{ إِنَّ هَٰذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ ۖ فَمَن شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا } (Indeed, this is a reminder. So whoever wills may take a path to his Lord.)